


Day 110

by Josh_the_Bard



Series: A Year in Kirkwall [110]
Category: Dragon Age (Video Games), Dragon Age II
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-04-20
Updated: 2020-04-20
Packaged: 2021-03-02 00:14:39
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 596
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23745898
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Josh_the_Bard/pseuds/Josh_the_Bard
Series: A Year in Kirkwall [110]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1589257





	Day 110

Wanda sat in a circle with five children. A mix of boys, girls, and elves. None of them were well suited for running but they all had nimble fingers. Some of them usually worked as pickpockets, but today their abilities were being put to different use. With Greta’s help, they had acquired all the old and worn out clothing the children couldn’t afford to replace, as well as some scraps and handkerchiefs stolen from the folks walking around Hightown. Wanda was showing them how to make repairs. They were resewing seams and patching knees, and shoulders.

Throughout the day the runners would stop by and leave some food for the sewers. Most of it was stale or close to going off but it was far better than nothing and Wanda had missed enough meals to appreciate the offerings. The children she was working with were all growing and must be starving all the time yet they still insisted that she have more than an equal share ‘on account of that she was eating for two.’

Wanda had always envisioned the streets of Darktown as a savage place where the impoverished fought each other for scraps. In her brief time here she realized that nothing could be farther from the truth, the shared struggle bonded the residence of Darktown together and even the Coterie would use some of their spoils as charity. A cynic might say it was only so that the locals were more loyal to them then the guards but some guild members seemed to genuinely care.

In fact, in the days since she had come down here, the Chantry sisters had only been down once delivering alms where as the Coterie spread food around every couple of days. That wasn’t to say that life was by any stretch of the imagination, good. Wanda had gone to bed hungry more often than not and her milk was not flowing as freely anymore. She was worried Jansen jr. was not getting enough to eat. Heading to the chanty and taking vows might be her best option, she would at least be fed, clothed and her child provided for. Maybe she could better direct the charity of the Chantry now that she knew what life was like down here.

They were most of the way through patching up the clothing when the shouting started.

“What’s going on?” Wanda asked. Most of the children had already disappeared, leaving the clothes where they were. Only one elven boy remained.

“It’s the guards,” he said. He scooped up as much of the clothing as he could. “We have to get out of here.”

“But we haven’t done anything wrong,” Wanda said, slowly getting to her feet. “Why would we need to worry?” but the boy was already gone. Wanda turned to try to follow but was met with a line of Coterie enforcers. Most were barely older then the children in Wanda’s sewing circle but they all carried clubs, axes, or knives and looked eager to use them.

She turned to run the other way but was met by a shield wall of guards advancing down the street. Wanda froze, not knowing where to go. One of the Coterie members tossed an ax at the guards who charged down the street towards the criminals. One tried to move Wanda out of the way but in his hast ended up slamming her against a wall.

Wanda toppled to the ground and struck her head hard, plunging her into darkness. The last sound she heard was Jansen jr. crying out in terror.


End file.
